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Tag Archives: restaurateur

CHEFS CHASING THE OWNERSHIP THING

15 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by harvestamericacues.com in Uncategorized

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Tags

chef, chef owner, cook, culinary, restaurant, restaurateur

me

I don’t believe that I know a single professional chef who doesn’t have a deep seeded desire to own a restaurant. Some are more obvious about the desire then others, some hide it pretty well, but underneath the façade of contentment with their current situation – every chef craves the chance to put their name on the front door of a restaurant.

Why is this ownership fixation such a fantasy for so many? Is it simply the American dream of being their own boss, is it a need to have the ultimate creative outlet that reflects their vision, or is it a false sense of confidence that allows a chef to think that he or she has the right formula for success? Maybe it is that sense of danger, the uncertainty of it as a motivational high, or it could just be a gnawing fear that they might wind up nearing the end of a career thinking: “could have, should have – didn’t.”

The majority of restaurant managers and operators come up through the ranks – this is absolutely important since it is such a simple type of business with enormous complexity in execution that can only be understood by those who have been there – done that. Many of those operators were accidental entrepreneurs who either fell in love with the business over a period of time, or spent so much time in operations that it simply became a logical progression. Chefs on the other hand seem to be born with the desire to own and operate. If a survey of culinary school freshmen included a question: “Do you want to own a restaurant some day”, I would dare guess that the overwhelming majority of young “yet to be cooks” would say yes. That desire may be beat out of them over the years, but it only takes a little encouragement, the sight of a perfect location, a few compliments on the quality of their cooking, or a visit to that new instantly successful concept that brings the desire right back to the surface – with a vengeance.

If you have read this far into the article, then I must assume that I have struck a chord and the ideas for the next great restaurant are filling up your head and soul right now. I am coming close to that scary 70-age marker and I still get excited about ideas for my own restaurant. After throwing some cold water in my face I am usually able to wake up out of those crazy dream states.

I know you have heard all of the reasons not to own a restaurant before – but I think that they are worth repeating – this way I might put a temporary damper on those over the top ideas that are floating around in your head right now. I know: a noodle shop would be killer, Native American cuisine is underserved, and Scandinavian food is hot on the world scene right now – so why not open one in Malone, New York? You can’t believe that no one has thought of this sooner – so the market can be all yours. Well let’s just tuck these realities under your arm:

  • There are over 1 million restaurants in the United States right now creating 1.5 million new jobs each year (many of them go unfilled because the labor pool is so tight).
  • The number one reason why restaurants fail is poor location – so unless you know how to assess demographic flow, population variances, and socio-economic realities within a radius from a site – then be cautious about your site selection.
  • The cost of food rarely goes down.
  • Customers are fickle and restaurants can be busy one week and empty the next.
  • Profitability in restaurants is quite low with the average successful restaurant realizing 4-6% profit if they can avoid mistakes.
  • It is unlikely that you will make a profit for at least three years.
  • We deal with highly perishable products with a shelf life measured in a few days – you better make sure that your menu moves well.
  • Turnover rates of employees in American restaurants are extremely high.
  • Rents are one of the next greatest reasons for restaurant failure. If you can’t keep your rent under 6% of sales then you are looking at almost certain failure.
  • Chefs make great marketing images for a restaurant and are responsible for producing the food that will help the operation stand out, but at the same time – most chefs are not the best financial managers, human resource managers, and marketing gurus.
  • Unlike many other businesses, a restaurant is quite an intense master. Chefs who work hard as an employee will work even harder as an owner.
  • Somewhere around 60% of all private restaurants that open today will close in a year, and 80-90% of those that remain will lock their doors by the time they reach year five.
  • The list goes on.

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Did I do a decent job of throwing cold water on your enthusiasm? I hope so. But, after all of that if you still think that your brilliant idea, and vast experience are just right for creating a successful operation then go for it! Find a partner with the management experience to be your balance. Make sure that the partner is bold enough to tell you NO, to counter some of your enthusiasm with business logic, and at the same time your best cheerleader when an idea is well researched. Make sure that you have investors willing to fund your idea, offer feedback and support, but are not interested in micro-managing the business (good luck with that). Find a location that is proven, through research, to be right for the concept, and ripe with ample traffic able and willing to support the restaurant. Create a conservative budget and stick to it. Create a realistic timeline for profitability and make sure you have the resources to weather the storm until you reach the anticipated point of success. And, by all means, make sure that your spouse or significant other fully understands what your commitment will be and is still excited about supporting you through thick and thin. NOW – take the leap.

The next three articles will cover three hypothetical situations where young chefs took the leap. I will walk you through some of the challenges that they would face, some thoughts on how they might approach those challenges, and the way that they can turn lemons into lemonade.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

And if you want to be an owner – THROW IN A HEAVY DOSE OF LUCK

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

 

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THE FORGOTTEN RESTAURATEUR

20 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by harvestamericacues.com in Uncategorized

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Tags

chefs, cooks, great restaurants, restaurateur

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There was a time when the restaurant owner/operator was the center of the hospitality universe. When a guest thought about a particular restaurant – the connection was with the person who shook their hand upon arrival, made sure that their meal was perfect, orchestrated the service experience, and always remembered something about each and every person who walked through the door.

In the not too distant past the most famous restaurants in America were an extension of the owner/operator who had a vision of hospitality and who was driven by a different experience where food was certainly important, but the care with which each guest was addressed and cared for was paramount. To many who may read this article – these restaurants may seem a far too distant stab at the past and not in tune with current times, but the fact remains – they helped to define the restaurant business in America and set the stage for the more modern chef/restaurateur.

The restaurant industry grew up quickly in Americas’ urban hubs from coast to coast. It was New York City, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles that defined the landscape for classic cooking and prominent restaurants, but America, as a whole, was becoming more and more interested and dependent on the restaurant experience.

Restaurants in New York such as Gallagher’s under Jerome Brody, the 21Club operated by Jack Kriendler and Charlie Bern, The Waldorf Astoria restaurants directed by Oscar Tschirky, The Rainbow Room directed by Joe Baum (later a founder of Restaurant Associates) Lombardi’s pizzeria (The first in America) with Gennaro Lombardi at the wood fired oven, the Grand Central Oyster Bar, Mama Leone’s in the theater district, Luchow’s, Lutece in the able hands of Andre Soltner, and the Original Palm Restaurant under Walter Ganzi, Sr. and later his son established the restaurant business as a legitimate, important, and successful venture. Each, in its own way, helped to define American hospitality long before chefs became the centerpiece of interest. It was the restaurateur, the owner/operator who was the reason why people came. Sure the food was good, but it was the hub of activity and the personal touch that brought patrons back time and again.

In other parts of the country – the same phenomena was taking place. In Boston the accolades fell to Durgin Park, Anthony’s under the masterful touch of Anthony Athanas, and The Union Oyster House – the oldest continuous operating restaurant in the U.S. In Chicago it was Berghoff’s operated by Herman Berghoff, and Morton’s Steak House in the hands of Arnie Morton. In New Orleans (The Big Easy) people flocked to Antoine’s, Broussard’s, Arnaud’s, and Commander’s Palace (the training ground for some of the most influential Cajun/Creole Chefs in history), and the west coast enjoyed the growing influence of restaurants like Tadich Grill, The Cliff House, The Brown Derby and Chasen’s that attracted some of the most influential people of the era.

To any serious cook – understanding the history of the profession is interesting and important. Knowing the people involved and how they approached the task of building a product, service method, and brand is the foundation of understanding what is needed to be successful today.

Although chefs are now the central figure in many restaurants it is noteworthy to consider what these talented individuals tend to lack in building the kind of loyalty that was present for many decades before. There are still examples of extraordinary restaurateurs who understand the balance between product and service and the dynamic of customer relationships, but more and more they seem to come in a distant second place to the splash of a marketing plan or the sizzle of a celebrity chef. We can still relish the exceptional examples of Drew Nieporent from Myriad Restaurant group that operates Tribeca Bar and Grill, and Nobu in New York; Danny Meyer who is unsurpassed in his handle on the right mix and the importance of guest interaction (his company – Union Square Group operates landmark restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Union Square Café, and the Shake Shack chain); and Richard Melman of Lettuce Entertain You who is a master of themed restaurants with well over 50 operations mostly in Chicago. We are inspired by the chef/restaurateur who understands the front and the back of the house – people such as Thomas Keller, Lidia and Joe Bastianich, Daniel Boulud, and Jean Georges and we appreciate those chef/restaurateurs who are smart enough to stick with that one operation where they can have their fingers in every detail of the business – people like Alfred Portale, Daniel Humm, and Eric Ripert; but we must also realize that in their success lies an appreciation for and an understanding of the style and commitment of those who came before.

When we lose sight of the importance of that personality, the individual who personifies what the restaurant is about then the experience is relegated to a process of exchanging money for food. As valuable as chain concepts are – they do lack that personality that defined the restaurant business just a few decades ago. Anthony Athanas was the clear operator of Anthony’s Restaurant for many decades and as such became the person that every guest expected to see. Even in his late 80’s when his physical nature found it difficult to actually run the restaurant – he still had a table in the restaurant where people could greet him and feel like they were under his guiding hand.

When any budding restaurateur is contemplating what it takes to be successful it might be wise to look to the past and learn from those who defined the restaurant business. As important as the food is to a restaurant’s success, it is only part of the formula. As important as the chef is to the success of a restaurant, he or she is only one player in defining the restaurant experience. That all important personality, the person with the extended hand and a big smile, the individual who remembers a guests name, favorite table, and preferred bottle of wine is the reason why guests return time and again. A great chef without a great front of the house personality is treading water in a fast running stream. A restaurant needs a person to identify with, a person who is there in the public eye and who is ready, willing and able to make a guest experience one to remember.

The roles may have flipped in recent years, but those restaurants that excel are the ones that view the front and back of the house as equally important. We need to praise the restaurateur, reinvigorate his or her importance, and celebrate the time when he or she is once again viewed as essential.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

 

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HOSPITALITY: BE THE REASON FOR THE RESERVATION

11 Friday Oct 2013

Tags

chef/owners, hospitality, restaurants, restaurateur, successful restaurants

HOSPITALITY: BE THE REASON FOR THE RESERVATION

There is an old statement that still holds true for restaurants that are consistently successful: “The handshake of the host determines the flavor of the roast”. As a chef by career choice, I certainly spend a great amount of time focusing on the value of food in creating a restaurant buzz. As a person who oftentimes had responsibility for the successful operation of a restaurant business I am acutely aware of how the sincerity of service and the commitment to making people feel at home is critical to the overall financial success of the restaurant.

I have been a part of training thousands of students and entry level cooks who aspire to be the next great chef and find it frustrating to note that very few of these “next generation” restaurateurs really get it. The FoodNetwork, a plethora of beautiful cookbooks, trade magazines and culinary schools continue to focus, almost exclusively, on the product. It is rare to find any serious talk about hospitality and the role it plays in building that next great restaurant.

Drew Nieporent talks about this as a contributing writer in “The Art of the Restaurateur” by: Nicholas Lander. Drew infers that the days of the restaurateur have come and gone with the focus on the chef. The shame of this is that the restaurateur was, for decades, the reason for the reservation. People wanted to go to that person’s operation, to meet them, shake their hand, laugh a bit and feel like they were uniquely welcome to dine. The new generation of restaurant that is chefcetric, can be successful “if” the chef is also the visible, gracious host. Guests will come initially for the opportunity to try the food, and may return a few times if the food is special, but they will only become loyal return customers if the operation is a mecca for unique hospitality and a personality who personifies this trait.

“Why isn’t my restaurant successful?” I hear this statement so many times from people who have dedicated their hard work, time, family life and talent to building a vehicle for presenting their special food. “The food is great, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, the location is perfect, but the tables are half empty.” Look to that secret ingredient: what are you doing to make people feel like they are the most important guest; guests who are have a perceived unique relationship with the owner/operator. Make everyone feel like Norm entering Cheers to the unified greeting by employees and guests at the bar. This “hospitality” always trumps price, and can even rank higher that the food. It is the experience that keeps people coming back.

This is not to say that the food, somehow is not important – it certainly is! Great food today is really the price of admission. It is the expectation of guests who know more about the product than ever before. The food must be great at any level, it is the hospitality ingredient that will make your restaurant unique.

The whole package is critical if your restaurant is to thrive in a highly competitive market. Bring back the hospitality of the restaurateur. If the business is chef owned and operated, then make sure that the chef provides the “handshake of the host”.

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